Ramsair

After a year of ownership I finally got my first ticket in the Z . 78 in a 65 – so last night I was heading home from the gym at about 7:30 – the 101 is a big wide freeway, I got on the freeway and back off in about 2 miles... 6 lanes where I was and there was not a lot of traffic… my HUD shows 78 and I am passing cars getting ready to exit onto Price road… the end of the freeway and the cruise is uphill to a point until you exit onto Price Road. I look in my rearview mirror and see an unmarked white HWP – approaching fast... going from the far outside left lane over to my lane the furthest right … I slow down as I exit and after a few lights he kicks on the cherries. Pulls me over and he says “what’s the big hurry?”… I said, sorry I was trying to beat the dust storm (which was huge last night)… I said, I was going 78 – and know it because that’s what my HUD was showing. He kind of leans over and peers in and of course it is then showing zero (I am not sure he’d ever seen a HUD) … he says, well I paced you at 94 mph… (I am sure I looked shocked) as I said, there is no way I was doing 94. He then he asks, do you know what the speed limit is? I said, 65… he said 55… I said, no way… he said, yes way. He leaves the car, goes to his runs my plate, etc… comes back with the ticket… not even giving me a chance to say “hey, what about giving me a warning, etc”… proceeds to tell me that he gave me a break by writing me up for civil as opposed to criminal speeding (and believe or not I thanked him for that). Ticket shows he paced me at 94, doing in excess of 85 in a 65… I am thinking, what just happened? I know for a fact I was not going 94… his word against mine – he may have had to go 94 to catch up to me, but that was not my speed. I am very aware when & where I speed and how fast I am going… it was neither the time nor the place to go 94 and I had just played 2 hours of racquetball so I was beat tired… not really feeling all that aggressive.

Court date is set for 9.20 – I have no problem paying a fine for speeding… and I was, but it was 78 in the 65 mph part of the freeway – it slows to 55 as you exit, which by then I was doing 55 and had seen him coming up on my tail (very fast).

What would you guys say in front of the judge? This is my first speeding ticket in almost 15 years. Being accused of something I did not do is what has me agitated… hate to think this is what comes with the territory of owning a fast and very cool car.

Thanks,

Chris

twinger01

Civil violation means u can go to the class if u don't want to take your chances in court.

Ramsair

That is the question... what chance do I have in court when it his "word" against mine?

Thx

C6z06n07

When you go to court, ask when the last time his speedo was calibrated, or if there is any dash cam video. Alot of agencies have gone with a dash cam that is triggered when the lights come on or when the patrol vehicle exceeds a certain speed. When the video is viewed it will show the speed at which the patrol vehicle was traveling. Big difference between being paced at 94 mph and him having to go that fast to catch up to you. The video would obviously show that.

PHXAZ06

Isn't that area "under construction", and the speed limit is 55 mph? If you got off on Price, I think its 55 whether you're headed east or west.
Curious though, why go to court? Your only hope is the cop doesn't show, and if you're lucky enough for that to happen, it still may not get dismissed, if the prosecutor postpones.
I think a better bet is to get a cheap lawyer and see if he can get it reduced, if that's what you're after.
Good luck!

90sundevil

It has been years, 1992 since I have had a ticket but I have that "brass pass".

90sundevil

He will have to subpoena that stuff before his court date. The calibration is the big thing, our department always lost those things or never got them done. I brought them to court and nobody ever asked and most of the guys I worked with never bought them. I would also try to figure out his shift and make your court date and time as inconvenient as possible.

Ramsair

Thanks for the suggestions - it has been since 1994 since I had my last ticket!

He did not pop on his lights until we were past and under the 202 and through two lights - pulled into the hotel on the right. Yes it is 55 as you exit and that is not in question. It is the whole "you were doing 94 mph because I paced you" issue.

Like I said I saw him coming in the rear view mirror and he was hauling. So at what point was he doing 120 to "catch" me doing 94 ~ all in a 2.5 mile stretch?

Not going to lawyer up on this … it looks like a max of $380 on the fine schedule or worst case I will do the traffic school… I just really hate getting popped for something I did not do. Maybe it is “karma” for all the times I did? JK, but seriously, not even a conversation.

If I go to court, will they still let me do the school, or is either or?

DaddyBarlow

Here's what I would do.... I would call all the local law offices in the county I recieved the ticket in and find out who "the man" is that deals with traffic tickets. Sometimes the gaurds at the court house can tell you. It makes all the differance in the world, I needed one for a speeding ticket a few years back. This guy I found knew EVERY cop, judge, gaurd, etc. in the court house. He actually lived across the street from the cop's brother. We saw the judge before the poeple came into the court room. We made a plea deal for a MUCH, MUCH lesser fine without points. It took 15 minutes at most, I paid him $300 cash. In my case, I was going much, much, much faster than the posted limit. In Michigan, you would probably only get an enpeading traffic ticket (which is no points) for the speed you were going and would not need a lawyer. Me personaly will never step foot into a court room without a good lawyer again...that's my 2 cents...

crease-guard

This is exactly why I have a video system with a GPS attached that records time, date and speed.

We are targets for the local cities and their failing budgets. Since we are in high performance sports cars we must have money and must have been speeding.

He may have his dash cam but I have mine.

Jay

Vette5.5

You gotta be careful in these cars, as can easily be doing 20 over without even trying to. Got pulled over a couple years ago for this. The cop was really cool, and cut me break. On the way to work one morning, was stuck behind a line of cars in the left lane. Got a clearing and just hit it. Was really moving too, then noticed a cop car back there. Thought I was complete toast and slowed down to normal. When the car cruised by, was just some old guy delivering it. Gotta know what my heart rate was doing.

Landru

Smart.

To the OP, pony-up & get yourself a good traffic lawyer.
You're looking at jacked insurance rates here, y'know.

Medpilot

What video system are you running? Contour perhaps? I was thinking of getting one myself.

crease-guard

I got the MobileWatchman from here: http://www.mobilewatchman.com/

It was a grand for the entire system. It's time consuming to install but really pretty straight forward to hook up. When I bought this system there was really no other viable alternative. Since then I've seen other systems that were comparable in features for around half the price.

I can hook it to my PC and replay the video as it comes with software to do that. Or you can export video clips as well to a flash drive once hooked to a laptop. Plus you can hook up a microphone and record audio as well.

Jay

twinger01

It's one or the other. School before court or take ur cances in court.

edmundu

When it is your word against his, you'll never win....unless you are lawyered up

In the past, I have always had an opportunity to speak with the prosecutor, just prior to court, and they almost always reduced the charge, to either eliminate or reduce the points against your license, along with the fines.

Medpilot

Thx..

tim414

Get a attorney. What I did

Ramsair

Thanks for the suggestions ~

So I looked up the "fine" - looks like $310 - I am not familiar with the process but it looks like the first meeting with a judge is a hearing... at that point I will get the choice to pay the fine or do the school or take it to a formal proceeding... does that sound right? Like I said it has been 15 years for me.

28-701A

•(0-19 mph over) $240.00

•(20-29 mph over) $310.00

•(30-39 mph over) $380.00

•(40+ mph over) $540.00

FNBADAZ06

I was running 80 MPH in the northbound 101 HOV lane just north of the 202 on Friday afternoon, when a white Suburban came flying up behind me. Whenever I have traffic running faster than me, I'll move over one lane to allow them to pass. The Burb caught up to me, paced me for about 20 seconds on my driver side door, then whipped on the siren just to let me know what he was I slowed to 75 and he just kept going 80 +.......close call on a stretch of highway with 65 MPH limit. Many an un-marked LEO prowling the freeways in Phoenix.

If you have the option of going to school, sounds like it might be worth it to go to school and forget about it.